


You Laugh like Everything Is Not Burning

by hatshepslut



Series: Birds of a Feather [1]
Category: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel - Michael Scott
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Body Horror, First Meetings, Footnotes, Headcanon, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Spoiler Warning: Book 4 (The Necromancer), Spoiler Warning: Book 6 (The Enchantress)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hatshepslut/pseuds/hatshepslut
Summary: The stranger shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Tell me then", he demanded, slightly tilting his head sidewards, "do we Elders have to know each other to be able to take pity on our kinsmen?"Topiltzin cackled humorlessly in return. For a moment he did not reply, not actually believing that this had been a genuine question, but when the other Elder expectantly raised one brow he could not help but frown in confusion. "Usually Elders do not take pity at all", he simply responded.
Relationships: Aten/Quetzalcoatl (Nicholas Flamel)
Series: Birds of a Feather [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973989
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	You Laugh like Everything Is Not Burning

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction is part of an ungoing project which will be updated every now and then. The short stories are only loosely connected to each other, so you do not have to read them in any particular order.
> 
> A special thanks goes out to the members of the SINF Discord.

** ca. 8000 BC, Ruins of Danu Talis **

He could not recall how long he had already been laying here like this.

Time passed by in a blur as Topiltzin¹ kept shifting in and out of consciousness. Above his head a flock of seagulls patiently circled the lava spire the Elder has been stuck on since his ship capsized near the ruined coastline of Danu Talis. They knew that it was only a matter of time till they would have a feast again. Not even the sun could break through the thick clouds of smoke that overcast the sky in a dirty grey. The firmament only seemed to be illuminated every now and then by a few sparks of fire the wind had carried over from the burning mainland. 

The pungent smell of burnt flesh stung his nose and even though Topiltzin knew for a fact that it was for most parts his own, he did barely feel a thing. His body had gone completely numb by now. He tried to breath but the air choked him down, his mouth immediately full of ashes. The stale taste of blood was all too prominent on the Elder's cracked lips.

If the heat or the exhaustion did not kill him, his aura would. The task of simply keeping him alive under these conditions was already using up so much of it that it was no question of if but rather of  _ when _ his aura would overcharge and burn him down to a crisp. For a moment Topiltzin almost envied his countrymen who had died during the shipwreck. Their bodies had simply melted like wax figurines when they plumped into the sea of boiling magma below. It was over so quickly that they barely had any time scream. Nobody, on the other hand, would spare  _ him _ such a mercy. The Elder wondered whether his brother had suffered a better fate than him, whether he had made it out of the ruins of their homeworld safe and sound, but quickly he pushed the thought aside again.

That was not something he wanted to agonize over in what seemed to be his last moments.

Only out of the corner of his eye he noticed a small flash of silver emerging from the horizon, but he could not quite focus long enough to actually make out what it was. In fact, Topiltzin had trouble keeping his eyes open in the first place. His eyelids suddenly felt awfully heavy. He had to resist the strong urge to just close them for a while, because he knew that once they were shut, they would not open again. Even if it was a ship, which the Elder doubted or rather did not dare to imagine anymore at this point, it would not change its course for him. At least he would not if he was standing at the helm.

He only had a vague memory of what happened afterwards. 

At some point he simply must have passed out. There were small bits that kept coming and going; a blurred face for example or a faint voice in the distance maybe. But as soon as he actually tried to get grasp of something more specific, it instantly slipped into the void again. The only thing Topiltzin could remember for sure was a pair of eyes, gray as the ashen sky. 

The room was filled with dim twilight when his eyes fluttered open again. Merely a few stray rays of sunlight entered through a crack in the heavy curtains which had been drawn in front of a small porthole. Somebody seemed to have tucked him into bed with a couple of silken blankets and the Elder could not help but sigh softly at the comforting dampness of a cool towel having been put on his forehead. Gently the cabin rocked from one side to another and the distant sound of waves splashing against the outer cladding reached his ears. Only slowly it started dawning on him where he actually was right now.

Perhaps this ship he thought to have seen had not been a mere imagination of his dying brain after all.

Immediately Topiltzin attempted to sit up, but as soon as he moved an abrupt pain darted through his spine, making him exhale sharply through his teeth as he sunk back into the covers. He had been too exhausted to notice it beforehand but when the feeling gradually returned to his body so did the pain. All of a sudden the Elder could feel the dull ache of his broken ribs again and the sharp sting of the cuts and blisters on the inside of his hands. Anew a raw, burning soreness started creeping all over his skin. Promptly a pang of nausea spread inside his stomach. His shoulders were shaking when he slightly bent over the copper washbasin that stood on a nearby nightstand.

He almost flinched at his own reflection.

A good portion of his neck and the left side of his face were badly burnt; and those were only the parts visible from this angle. Dried skin has cracked open around the edges to reveal raw flesh underneath. Carefully Topiltzin pressed his finger against a sore spot on his chin, but immediately redrew it again, cursing under his breath. For a moment the air was thick with the scent of rancid meat, but suddenly the smell turnt bitter, almost as if something was set on fire. Only vaguely he noticed the door opening. 

"I would not do that if I were you."

Instinctively the Elder turned his head towards the unfamiliar voice, but the movement immediately sent a pang of pain to the space between his shoulder blades. Temporarily his vision went white with pain. Grimacing visibly, Topiltzin automatically pressed one palm against his stiff neck, only to flinch away yet again at the painful sensation against his raw skin. A muffled groan escaped his mouth.

Suddenly he could feel a pair of hands cupping his face, steadying both his head and neck as they did. A wave of relief instantly flooded his body as the faint scent of frankincense filled the room. The Elder wanted to protest, to simply pull away from the stranger's grasp, but noticed himself unconsciously leaning into the touch instead. His plumed tail, which was slightly showing from underneath the blankets, visibly relaxed. 

"Better?", the voice asked in a soothing tone and he opened his eyes again. Topiltzin had not even noticed that they have been shut in the first place. They were sitting almost nose to nose to each other. For some reason he was not certain whether this should have made him feel uncomfortable or not. Watching the stranger's face intently, he came to the conclusion that he did not recognize this man, but his eyes seemed awkwardly familiar.

They were gray.

"Why?", Topiltzin finally croaked in a low voice.

"That is an interesting way to say 'Thank you'", the stranger chuckled as he carefully let go of the other Elder's face again, raising his brows in amusement. His laugh was of this contagious kind that you could not help but smile yourself. He laughed like everything was not burning. Even the corners of Topiltzin's own mouth unnoticeably curved upwards, just a tiny bit.

"I just do not get it", he argued and quickly tried to put on a sober expression again, feeling almost embarrassed by his inappropriate reaction. Defiantly Topiltzin crossed his arms in front of his chest, his tail wagging erratically, and added: "You do not even know me!"

The stranger shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Tell me then", he demanded, slightly tilting his head sidewards, "do we Elders have to know each other to be able to take pity on our kinsmen?"

Topiltzin cackled humorlessly in return. For a moment he did not reply, not actually believing that this had been a genuine question, but when the other Elder expectantly raised one brow he could not help but frown in confusion. "Usually Elders do not take pity at all", he simply responded.

"Then you probably did not surround yourself with the right ones", the stranger commented smugly, a small smirk playing around the corners of his mouth. Smoothly the stranger got up from the crouching position he had assumed at the other Elder's beside beforehand and paused for a second to throw an examining glance at him. Eventually he added: "What is your name?"

"Depends on whom you are asking."

The stranger laughed in amusement. To his own surprise the sound instantly made a cold shiver ran down Topiltzin's spine. "You are not a very talkative one, are you?", the other Elder noted, leaning back against the wooden doorframe behind him. 

"I look and feel like an overcooked chicken. Of course I am not talkative!", Topiltzin stated somewhat bitterly and let a small huff escape him through his nose. The stranger slightly rolled his eyes at this reaction, but the faint smirk on his lips stayed just the same. 

"I think I am going to like you", he simply commented.

"You will not", Topiltzin countered and bared his fangs in a toothy grin, "I am insufferable." Letting himself sink further into the covers, his glance unconsciously shifted upwards to the ceiling. He sighed exaggeratedly: "You are going to regret having me here in less than a week's time."

"I take you at your word", the stranger replied with a wry chuckle and pushed himself away from the doorframe again, against which he has still been leaning. He already turnt to leave through the open door, just as he had entered in the first place, when he threw a last brief glance over his shoulder. Smiling gently at the other Elder, the stranger added: "Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead of us."

"Topiltzin", the selfsame suddenly blurted out. 

The stranger paused in the doorframe, blinking in confusion. "Pardon?", he finally uttered.

"You asked me for my name, did you not?", Topiltzin responded almost bashfully, a nervous laugh escaping him as his tail curled around the nearby bedpost. It actually sounded more like he was choking and in a way he was. He could not quite explain to himself where this sudden anxiety has come from in the first place, but for whatever reason it might be he really did not want the other Elder to leave. "However, nobody has called me that in ages...", he reluctantly admitted.

The stranger raised his brows. "Well, what should I call you then?", he wondered.

Topiltzin hesitated for a moment. He has actually not put much thought into this question since his brother had left for Mictlan², but that was a story for another time. Bastet called him a feathered serpent once. It was actually meant as an insult, a threat even, but, quite frankly, whether the cat would end up as predator or prey solely depended on the kind of snake.

"Quetzalcoatl³", he eventually responded.

"That is... a mouthful", the other Elder admitted hesitantly, but finally added: "However, I think I will manage."

"Are you not going to tell me  _your_ name?", ~~Topiltzin~~ Quetzalcoatl wondered, slightly furrowing his brows. The stranger immediately smirked a crooked smile in response.

"Amenhotep⁴, but I prefer Aten", he simply stated and left for good.

**Author's Note:**

> ¹ Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl (895 - 947 AD) was a legendary ruler of the Toltecah city state of Tollan Xicocotitlan, who later on often got conflated with the deity Quetzalcoatl. Based on this I chose this an earlier name of Quetzalcoatl for the SINF canon.
> 
> ² Mictlan is the name of the underworld in Nahua mythology. In some versions of the myth about "The Recovery of the Precious Bones of the Ancestors", which I might convert to the SINF canon at some point, Xolotl stays behind there and becomes a guide to the souls of the deceased. Thus, it is likely that Mictlan is simply a shadowrealm in the SINF canon.
> 
> ³ The name Quetzalcoatl basically means "feathered serpent" in Nahuatl, just as Kʼukʼulkan does in Mayaʼ tʼàan, making it a so called speaking name.
> 
> ⁴ Amenhotep IV. was the birth name of the historical pharaoh Akhenaten (ca. 1373 - ca. 1336 BC), who is the same person as Aten in the SINF canon. Since Aten's father is also canonically called Amenhotep, this probably applies to his son as well.


End file.
